I am at a cross roads...

[TimfromMA]

5 at a time on a hand truck into a walk in basement.

 

[TimfromMA]

I do transport them home myself.

 

[begreen]

Burning in a Princess is a very different experience from burning in other stoves. It is designed to burn slowly and steadily for over 20-24 hrs in milder weather and for at least 10-12 hrs in cold weather. That means you would be loading the stove about as frequently as you would be a pellet burner. And it means very little temperature swing with its thermostatic control. With less blowers running the Princess should also be a bit quieter, at least with the fan on low speed.

FWIW, I've had both a pellet stove and a wood stove in our living room and have returned back to the wood stove.The pellet stove was nice and I liked having it on a digital thermostat. But the fireview was not as good, it definitely was noisier and the wood stove guarantees heat in extended power outages which we get at least once a year. For these reasons I put up with the additional work. I tend to be lazy so the exercise is good for me.

 

[ccmac]

I have a wood stove (Pacific Energy Summit Classic) and a fireplace. I really enjoy the wood fire view as well. Just makes for a magical night in front of the fire. I have a friend who uses the pellet stove and last year the power went out and he had a small fire some how go into the hopper. Fire was quickly extinguished by the smoke damage was significant. He had to have a company come in and clean and de-smoke everything. On the plus side he said his home has never been cleaner. Not a fan of the fireview either. His is kinda boring to look at and I don't trust them since his incident.

 

[TimfromMA]

A battery backup system would have prevented that.

 

[begreen]

Perhaps, depending on the size of the backup and whether someone would be at home to shut down the stove.

 

[TimfromMA]

Perhaps, depending on the size of the backup and whether someone would be at home to shut down the stove.

Some stoves will automatically shutdown when they detect the modified sine wave of a UPS. My stove won't auto shutdown but I have my backup sized big enough so that the stove will run out of pellets before the batteries die.

 

[maple1]

Some stoves will automatically shutdown when they detect the modified sine wave of a UPS. My stove won't auto shutdown but I have my backup sized big enough so that the stove will run out of pellets before the batteries die.

What do you have for a UPS?

I don't have a pellet stove - but don't most go a day on a feeding? Thinking it would take a pretty big UPS to run a stove for a whole day.

 

[TimfromMA]

It's an APC XS1500. I wired it some deep cycle marine batteries to increase run time.

 

[bogieb]

What do you have for a UPS?

I don't have a pellet stove - but don't most go a day on a feeding? .

Depends on hopper size and how hard they are run. My Hastings probably holds 30-35 # of pellets (it certainly doesn't hold an entire bag as the literature claims) and Jan-Feb I hoped I didn't get stuck at work too long and the drive home wasn't unduly delayed by snow so I could get to it before it ran out of pellets. It would run 12-16 hours on a #3 setting (medium), thermostatically controlled so it idled or shut off between calls for heat. Can't get a hopper extension for that stove either either.

 

[begreen]

It's an APC XS1500. I wired it some deep cycle marine batteries to increase run time.

So an expensive and modified UPS. That is a nice mod, but perhaps a bit more than most folks would attempt or want.

 

[TimfromMA]

A less expensive way out is to put sufficient vertical rise on your vent so smoke drafts out during a power failure.

 

[HisTreeNut]

5 at a time on a hand truck into a walk in basement.

You are supposed to say "That is what I carried in one arm because I needed to open the door with the other..." LOL

 

[TimfromMA]

You are supposed to say "That is what I carried in one arm because I needed to open the door with the other..." LOL

I may be a weak fatso, but at least I'm an honest weak fatso.

 

[HisTreeNut]

I may be a weak fatso, but at least I'm an honest weak fatso.

 

[Lostsoutherner]

My Short Answer: Pellets are easier, and, with my setup about equally affordable. Firewood was a process that I enjoyed, but with 2 kids, I no longer have the time.


My Long Answer: I burned wood and then switched to pellets last year. I had an old Jotul 8 and switched to a Breckwell SPC50. I was paying for wood, which was going up in price as well as pellets.

When I burned wood, my oil furnace ran more than now. The pellet stove has decreased my oil usage as the pellet stove runs continuously. The way I have it figured, I am breaking about even in fuel cost (*pellets and oil* VS *wood and oil*)

Pellets are just plain easier. Firewood has its own charm, but it requires more time. There was one season I split all my own wood to save money. I really enjoyed it. However, I do not have a lot of free time, and this ate into other responsibilities.


Years from now, when I retire, I would like to go back to wood. It was a process I enjoyed. For now, with limited time, pellets are the way to go for me.

Does the spc50 work for you? I bought one and am having issues

 

[Cedarjunki]

Personally if i had the extra room i would keep the wood insert as is and install a free standing pellet stove as well.. best of both worlds.

 

[MCPO]

Your initial problem is in getting log lengths. so why not just buy your wood cut, split, and delivered? That way you lose the time consuming steps of handling the wood multiple times and having to split it, not to mention the god awful mess that process creates.
Much less work for you and much cheaper than burning pellets. The cost of that new pellet stove simply isn`t gonna be worth it IMO.

 

[bill3rail]

I started from oil heat, no alternative heat source, and had to decide what direction to go, wood or pellet.
Thinking, wood can often be free, I would need to buy a log-splitter and create storage space to stack the wood. I own a few chainsaws already.
Pellets would be a LOT LESS time consuming and easier to store.
At 50 years old, I thought I would NOT want to cut split stack in 20 or 30 years.

Current thoughts are:
Pellet prices are going up!
Wood may always be free.
Had a heart attach on Sunday so pellets were a wise choice!

For you, well into the process of wood heat so keep going where you are.

Add to your daily "Hi, how are you today? Have not seen you in a while!"
"Would you know where I can get some downed trees for firewood?" Your wood stacks will get higher with that one question! Talk to all of the landscapers who do tree work, and ask if they have jobs in your area could they drop off some free or cheap wood.
How many people have a downed tree that may even pay to get most of it removed?

Bill

 

[Lake Girl]

Had a heart attach on Sunday

Take care of you bill ... hope you and your doctors have the plan to get you on the mend!

 

[bogieb]

Current thoughts are:
Pellet prices are going up!
Wood may always be free.
Had a heart attach on Sunday so pellets were a wise choice!

Bill

Hoping for a quick and complete recovery!

 

[bags]

Get Well Bill. Pellets are a decent amount of work and wood is a WHOLE LOTTA WORK. I still like the wood but not right now. Woke up to snow on the ground today and jsut looked over at some bags already in by the stove with content.

 

[MikeDeslauriers]

Does the spc50 work for you? I bought one and am having issues

I was having issues, curious what yours are.

I am going to post a review in the near future on this, but I believe I have the kinks worked out. I was having too much resistance on the motor. Breckwell sent me a replacement auger tube (which houses the auger that the motor turns). There has been a marked improvement.

I must thank Peter Albertsen, the original creator of the Upland 207 which is now the Breckwell SPC50. He was instrumental in working with me to figure out the issue.

Now this is a fantastic stove. Highly efficient, can run for a month without cleaning. Looks great.

Also... Best of luck to Bill! (Above on this thread)

 

[Lostsoutherner]

I was having issues, curious what yours are.

I am going to post a review in the near future on this, but I believe I have the kinks worked out. I was having too much resistance on the motor. Breckwell sent me a replacement auger tube (which houses the auger that the motor turns). There has been a marked improvement.

I must thank Peter Albertsen, the original creator of the Upland 207 which is now the Breckwell SPC50. He was instrumental in working with me to figure out the issue.

Now this is a fantastic stove. Highly efficient, can run for a month without cleaning. Looks great.

Also... Best of luck to Bill! (Above on this thread)

yes, I actually spoke to Peter. He is great. I think my biggest issue is that my installer didn't know how the stove worked. he ran the venting up 2' at out of the stove. ow I do. I'm going to try and have the venting done correctly. I may even do it myself with help from a couple of friends. Though it will cost much more to vent than the hack installer/dealer told me. Besides this, I did have some issues with the auger. the installer did get them fixed, though, I am weary of any work he has done and would love to have someone who knows this stove to inspect the work when I'm done.

Also, Breckwell's manual for this unit is fairly pathetic. I think they included basic instructions for other conventional pellet stoves in the manual. Including instructions that contradict the SPC-50's requirements. So far I've not found anywhere in the manual that clearly states the unique venting requirements for this stove. Though, I did discover that it is printed on the serial number plate on the back of the stove.

This is turning into a real job for me now. I really want to keep the stove. I'm hoping the hack who sold it to me will refund the installation money.

 

[Polar Bear]

I've had both sources of heat. I switched to pellets about 3 years ago and am very glad I did. The price of wood was getting out of control... it was costing nearly 1200 a season in hardwood. Now I spend the same for 4 tons and it does a better job at maintaining a constant temperature.

I see you mention you are just 42. While you can still easily do the labor involved in wood, I'm sure you still work and go out every so often. I am 30, and hated coming home late from work sometimes to the fire out and the house cold. The wood stove just wasn't practical for me. My father-in-law is retired and loves his wood stove... he also stays home and can easily maintain it. It comes down to practicality. The pellet stove just works for me in this stage of my life.